THE YOUTH AWAKENING:
NOW OR NEVER
By Iddi
Muhayu-Deen
Elsewhere
in France, a 39-year old, has been elected as President of that country.
France, if you care to know, is the 4th most powerful country in the World and
one of the five permanent members of the omnipotent UN Security Council, which
is the only body on earth that can veto all kinds of sanctions on any nation
and can also change the sleeping place of any past or sitting President of any
nation including Ghana. Today, the leader of this country (France) is only 39
years.
But if it
were Ghana, a certain poor tiny country in the West Coast of Africa, that is as
powerless as a day old baby, he (the 39-year old French President) wouldn't
even qualify to contest for the presidency in the first place. We say, in our
part of the world, you can't be president if you are less than 40 years. We
say, until you get to 40, you are too young to lead this country. No matter how
intelligent you are; no matter how resourceful you are; no matter how
discerning and knowledgeable you are; in Ghana, we say, you have to wait until
you get to 40 years, before you can qualify to contest for the position of
President.
That is
the monstrous subculture and constitutional absurdity we have created for
ourselves and we have been living in it for decades, forgetting that the World
has been evolving, making CHANGE, the only permanent thing in life. Forgetting
that wisdom is not the preserve of the old. Forgetting that the youth are
increasingly taking over the baton of leadership across the globe and
delivering with impeccable distinction. Forgetting that Ghana, is within the
comity of nations.
Surprisingly
however, Ghana, the very country that says you can't be president until you
attain the age of 40, allows people, as young as 20 years, to be Members of
Parliament. So essentially, the country is saying that people who do not have
the gravitas to be President, nonetheless, qualify to go to Parliament to make
laws for the President to obey. How paradoxically funny! Surely, this logic
doesn't add up, at least, not in the circumstances.
We
therefore need to, as urgently as possible, review our laws and embrace a new
paradigm that would reflect the exigencies of time. Ghana CANNOT continue to
"belittle" the intelligence and leadership prowess of its youthful
population. We are not unintelligent. We also have the wherewithal to lead this
country as Presidents, just as, we can lead our immediate constituents as MPs.
If we can be MMDCEs; we can be MPs; we can be Ambassadors/High Commissioners;
we can be Deputy Chiefs of Staff; we can be Deputy Ministers; we can be
Ministers of State; we can be Vice Presidents; then SURELY, we can also be
Presidents.
Fortunately
in this current government under His Excellency President Nana Akufo-Addo, we
have a lot of our compatriots (the youth) occupying key government positions
and for that matter positions of influence. They are therefore in a position to
effect the change we all yearn for. I therefore wish to use this opportunity to
call on them including, in no particular order, the likes of the respected Hajia
Samira Bawumia (the Second Lady), Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Perry Okudjeto and
Dokuah (Deputy Ministers of Information),
Abu
Jinapore and Francis Asenso (Deputy Chiefs of Staff), Joseph Kpemka and Golfred
Dame (Deputy Ministers of Justice and AGs), Afenyo Markin of the ECOWAS
Parliament, Sammi Awuku (National Youth Organizer of the governing party), all
of whom, per my checks (I stand to be corrected thou), are in their 30s, to
work at changing this unjust narrative. I implore them and the other young people
in leadership positions, whose names, I haven't mentioned, for want of time and
space, to, as immediate as possible, initiate the necessary national
conversation that would lead to the reposition of leadership confidence in the
young people of our country.
They
should do that so that when history is told someday, just like the Nkrumahs and
the J. B. Danquahs, it will be said that it was during their time and owing to
their efforts that the youth of our country, attained their rightful position
in society. It will also be said that they didn't fail nor disappoint their
constituents (the Ghanaian youth) when they had the opportunity to effect
change. It would thus, be highly disappointing if they left office without
charting this path for posterity. I also want to be able to beat my chest one
day and say with pride that, YES, I belong to their generation.
I wish to
conclude by reiterating the point that, we, the youth of this country, are not
demanding for rocket science from the State. We are not asking the State to do
something for us, which is unheard of. We are not asking for too much. All we
ask for, is to be given an opportunity to serve our country along the
leadership chain including occupying political positions at the highest echelon
of government. This is not too much to ask for, my fellow countrymen and women.
If our innocuous wish would ever be granted, then it has to be NOW or NEVER.
The voice of a youth activist and a Ghanaian citizen NOT a spectator.
Assalamu
alaikum
Iddi
Muhayu-Deen
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